Category Archives: Releases

Coming to DVD today, Tuesday, December 1: NATURAL RESISTANCE

Jonathan Nossiter’s look at artisanal Italian vintners struggling against conformity bowed at Berlin last year. The film also screened at Toronto, CPH:DOX, BAFICI, Athens, Docs Against Gravity, Montreal, Beirut, Rio, Seattle, Miami, and Santa Barbara, among others.

A companion piece to Nossiter’s better-known MONDOVINO, his new film is less sprawling, focused on four winemakers in two Italian regions, but covers similar general terrain as the earlier film: the impact of globalization and corporate culture on the craft of wine production. Here, the concerns are stated primarily in local terms, as so-called “natural” winemakers rail against the bureaucracy of “quality control” boards which demand a stifling uniformity to the vintages they’ll accept, ignoring the realities of weather, region, and environment and their impact on production. Couching this in a paradigm of economic control which has seen the European Union discourage farming in favor of urban development, these impassioned artisanal creators rightfully feel imperiled. Nossiter, however, employs an ambling, and at time rambling, approach – what the various clips from random classic films inserted here have to do with winemaking is a headscratcher, for example. Ultimately, this is a pleasant enough diversion, but not quite as effective as a call to action, if, in fact that is its intent.

Coming to DVD tomorrow, Tuesday, December 1: SLINGSHOT

Paul Lazarus’ portrait of a humanitarian inventor had its world premiere at Cinequest last year. The film has also screened at Cleveland, Florida, Heartland, Woodstock, Nashville, and Denver, among other festivals.

I previously wrote about the doc upon its theatrical release here.

Coming to theatres today, Friday, November 27: IRAQI ODYSSEY

Samir’s chronicle of the Iraqi diaspora through his middle-class family’s example made its debut at Toronto last year. It went on to screen at Abu Dhabi, Berlin, Zurich, Cairo, and New Zealand, among others. It is Switzerland’s entry for the Best Foreign Language Film in the Academy Awards.

Over the course of nearly three hours, the director shares the story of his extended family, who have left their native Iraq to take up residence all over the world. While Samir’s personal, and sometimes plodding, narration, namechecks dozens of family members, he largely focuses on five to tell the story of an upper middle class clan, said to be directly descended from Muhammad, who have found their lives upended by wars, regime changes, and politics. It’s an overly ambitious project, functioning not only as a personal family tale, but as a primer on modern Iraqi history, aided greatly by a selection of articulate, camera-friendly subjects, though the unfortunate use of English-language dubbing is distracting. Beyond its running time, the project’s greatest drawback is its frankly dull visual approach, positioning interviewees against black backgrounds with occasional, cheap-looking graphics popping up – presented in 3D at festivals, though it seems the theatrical release may be bypassing that gimmick. Still, the film somehow remains surprisingly engaging despite this, offering an insightful, nuanced look at modern Middle Eastern history.

Coming to theatres today, Friday, November 27: STINK!

Jon Whelan’s investigation into chemical industry secrecy debuted at a special event in NYC last Spring. Fest screenings have included Atlanta Docufest, Barcelona’s Human Rights, San Francisco Doc, Rhode Island, and United Nations Association.

As awkwardly shown onscreen at the outset, Whelan is motivated to make his film after he orders clothing for his young daughters and is confronted with a strange smell from the packaging. He gets nowhere when he calls the manufacturer for information about what chemicals are involved, and is instead told that’s proprietary information. He soon learns that a regulatory loophole allows manufacturers to use hundreds of thousands of chemicals in the production of countless consumer items’ catch-all ingredient, “fragrance,” many carcinogenic or otherwise potentially harmful to humans – and the companies are under no obligation to disclose their contents or even prove their safety. The neophyte filmmaker sets out to learn why, engaging in low-rent Michael Moore shenanigans to demand answers from industry insiders, politicians, and others who benefit financially from the corporate secrecy while endangering consumer health. To put a further excessively personal spin on the proceedings, Whelan wonders whether his late wife’s struggle with breast cancer was due to such lack of public health concern. While the film’s general subject matter is disturbing and certainly merits public awareness, Whelan’s filmmaking is just not up to snuff. His clunky personal crusade approach is overly derivative and amateurish, particularly in his insistence on unnecessarily including himself via narration and on-camera – and cheapens the project’s overall impact.